“Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade: The Trade War, COVID-19 and Beyond”

Dr. Andrew Muhammad

Professor of Agricultural Economics, and Blasingame Chair of Excellence in Ag Policy,

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

 

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Dr. Andrew Muhammad brings considerable experience and research to the Blasingame Chair position where he focuses on assisting decision makers in the evaluation of opportunities, policies, and programs on international trade.

 

Dr. Muhammad currently serves on several Advisory Boards, including the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee (APAC), which provides trade policy counsel to the Secretary of Agriculture and U.S. Trade Representative. He previously served as Associate Director of the Markets and Trade Economics Division at the Economic Research Service in Washington, D.C., an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (2016-2018). He also served as Chief of the International Demand and Trade Branch at the Economic Research Service (2013-2016) where he represented the agency on international trade issues.

 

Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dr. Muhammad was on faculty at Mississippi State University and Southern University in Baton Rouge.

 

Dr. Mohammad's research focuses on agricultural trade and trade policy, international competitiveness of U.S. agriculture, effects of trade on developing countries, and global food and nutrition demand. Dr. Muhammad earned his Ph.D. in Food and Resource Economics in 2000 from the University of Florida.

“Succession Planning – The Role of the Ag Consultant” and “The DIRRT Project”

Rena Striegel MBA

President,

Transition Point Business Advisors

 

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Rena Striegel is an internationally recognized business coach and consultant with more than 20 years of experience working directly with farmers, ag leaders, senior executives and entrepreneurs to identify and implement strategies that create growth and profitability.

 

In her role as president of Transition Point Business Advisors, she leads client projects in the areas of strategic planning, business succession and continuity planning and employee/leadership development. A majority of her current clients are large family owned farm operations located throughout the lower 48 states.

 

Her practical and often humorous approach to leadership makes her a sought after keynote speaker at conferences focused on innovation and building peak performance organizations.

 

Rena is a Professional EOS Implementer as well as a certified business coach and holds an MBA from the University of Iowa. Rena grew up on a dairy and hog farm in What Cheer, Iowa.

““A Look at the Ag Economy at the End of 2020 – Where To From Here?”

 

Dr. Keith Coble

 

Giles Distinguished and Head,

Agricultural Economics Department

Mississippi State University

 

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Dr. Keith Coble  focuses on agricultural policy, insurance, and agricultural data analytics. Coble is the Past-President of  Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) for 2019-2020. 

 

Coble has published 95 scientific research journal articles, over 60 reports for government agencies, and 160 scientific conference papers. Coble served as Associate Editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics from 2008-2011. Coble also received the Bruce Gardner Award from the U.S. Department of Agricultural Economists Group for his contribution to USDA policy analysis and he received a Southeastern Conference's Faculty Achievement Award for achievement in research, scholarship and service.

 

Coble has testified before Congressional Committees on three occasions regarding agricultural policy and served as the Chief Economist for the Minority Staff of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee during the 2013-2014 farm bill debate. 

Ag Consultant Panelist

Norm Brown CAC

 

President,

FBS Systems

 

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Norm Brown is president of FBS Systems, Inc., which designs, develops, markets, and supports integrated software systems to agriculture’s top managers.

 

In 2019, he co-founded the Mutual Agricultural Software Alliance, LLC, a producer-owned venture that provides an open financial ERP to its members and strategic partners. 

 

He is a Certified Agricultural Consultant and past president of the American Society of Agricultural Consultants.

 

Norm’s consulting specialty is helping large and complex commercial crop and livestock operations, professional farm managers and accounting firms define and implement management accounting systems. Norm is also a partner in an Illinois farming operation that raises 2,000 acres of corn and markets 60,000 hogs per year. 

 

He’s a graduate of Iowa State University and the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program. Norm serves on the Farm Financial Standards Council, his local Rotary club and Trinity Presbyterian Church of Aledo (PCA) as a ruling elder. He and his wife Cheryl have four children and ten grandchildren.

 

"Ag Influencers: The Power of Social Media"; Co-Moderator: Client Panel

Joanna Lidback MBA CAC

Business Manager and CFO,

Adirondack Farms

 

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Joanna Lidback, together with her husband, operates the Farm at Wheeler Mountain. On this diversified dairy farm, located in Northeast Vermont, they milk registered Jerseys and Holsteins, manage a grass-based cropping and grazing program and run a Jersey beef direct farm sales business.

 

Joanna volunteers as a board member for the Global Farmer Network and has testified in the US Congress on the topic of societal benefits of biotechnology.

 

With an Applied Economics and Management degree from Cornell University and an MBA from Babson College, she serves as CFO and business manager at Adirondack Farms, LLC.

 

Joanna was recognized with a Young Jersey Breeder Award in 2016.

"Animal Protein Outlook"

Will Sawyer

Lead Economist,

Protein Knowledge Exchange Division

CoBank

 

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Will Sawyer is lead animal protein economist in CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange research division, where his focus is on providing market and industry research for the pork, poultry and beef sectors.

 

Will has researched the food and ag industry for more than a decade. Before joining CoBank in 2018, Will was executive director of animal protein research at Rabobank, analyzing the pork and poultry sectors across North America. There he authored works on a number of issues facing the U.S. and global animal protein industry including disease, trade, profitability and changing consumer trends.

 

Prior to Rabobank, Will was an associate analyst at Credit Suisse where he covered publicly traded U.S. consumer food, animal protein and agribusiness companies.

 

Mr. Sawyer holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s in accountancy from Wake Forest University.

”U.S. Cotton and the Presidential Election, COVID-19 and International Trade”

Dr. Gary Adams

President and COO,

National Cotton Council

 

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As the National Cotton Council's (NCC) president and chief executive officer, Dr. Adams plays a pivotal role in guiding the cotton industry to compete effectively and profitably in global markets.

 

Previously, Adams served as vice president of Economics and Policy Analysis at NCC, where he produced the economic outlook for global cotton markets and analyzed the impacts of farm and trade policies as they relate to the U.S. cotton industry. He represented the cotton industry on USDA's Advisory Committee on Trade from 2005 through 2011 and the National Agriculture Statistics Service Advisory Committee on Agricultural Statistics from 2003 through 2009.

 

Prior to joining the NCC, Adams was a research assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Missouri. During his 13-year tenure at the university, his primary responsibilities included policy analysis and market outlook for the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.

 

Adams holds B.S. and M.A. degrees in Applied Mathematics from the University of Alabama and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Missouri. He and his wife, Carol, have four children.

"Ethics in Agricultural Consulting”

Ib Hagsten Ph.D. CAC

Independent Accredited Organic Inspector, Hagsten Enterprises International, Inc.

 

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As President at Hagsten Enterprises International, Ib Hagsten is an independent accredited organic inspector in the crops, livestock and handler/processor categories. He audits farms, (crop and livestock/dairy); food processors; handlers/traders, including retail to USDA/NOP, European, Japanese and Canadian standards.

 

In addition, Ib performs agronomic subcontracting for nutrient management plans, conservation plans and field/crop assessments. He is specially focused in livestock nutrition, management, production and animal welfare.

 

He holds a Ph.D. and Masters in Animal Nutrition and Production  from Purdue University and a Master of Science from the Royal Danish Agricultural University.

 

Ib and his wife Patricia have contributed greatly to ASAC during their years of service to agriculture. For more than a decade, they have produced and published the ASAC Communique for Society members. Ib served as President of ASAC in 2003-2004. He is also a former Vice Chair for the International Organic Inspectors Association.

Ag Consultant Panelist;

Moderator: “What We Expect from Our Consultants and How We Use Them: A Client’s Perspective”

Bill Zweigbaum CAC

Vice President / Business Consultant,

Farm Credit East

 

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Bill Zweigbaum provides services to client-members in the areas of business transfer, budgeting, tax planning, estate planning, business organization, labor management, diversification, expansion and profit-maximizing strategies.

 

Bill specializes in dairy industry analysis and heads up the Dairy Benchmark^© program evaluating profitable dairy management on a group of farms that produce 2.5% of the total U.S. milk supply.

 

Bill became an Independent Certified Agricultural Consultant with the American Society of Agricultural Consultants in September, 2002 and served as President of their Board of Directors 2007-2008.

Dr. Charlie Hatcher, DVM

Commissioner of Agriculture,

Tennessee Department of Agriculture

 

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Charlie Hatcher, D.V.M. was sworn in as Tennessee’s 38th Commissioner of Agriculture on Jan. 19, 2019.

Appointed by Governor Bill Lee, Dr. Hatcher is a tenth generation American farmer and a fifth generation Tennessee farmer. Prior to becoming Commissioner, he served for ten years as the State Veterinarian for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. In that role, he protected the health and welfare of animals within the state and promoted the marketability of animals and animal products.

 

Dr. Hatcher founded Rock-N-Country Veterinary Services in College Grove, Tenn. in 1993, specializing in livestock. The veterinary practice is now managed by his daughter, Jennifer, who is also a veterinarian. The Hatchers are well known in the dairy and agritourism industries, too. In 2007, Hatcher Family Dairy began bottling its own milk and today provides milk and milk products to customers in Middle Tennessee. Hatcher’s son, Charles, serves as president of the business.

 

Dr. Hatcher earned a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (1984) and a B.S. in Animal Science from Middle Tennessee State University (1980).

 

He lives on the family farm in College Grove (est. 1831) with his wife of forty years, Sharon. His son and daughter also live on the farm with their families.

Ag Consultant  Moderator and Panelist

Paige Gilligan CAC

Risk Management Consultant,

Rick Mitigators & Advisors

 

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Paige Gilligan has more than 25 years of collateral valuation experience throughout the western United States. Before starting Risk Mitigators & Advisors, Ms. Gilligan served as a Senior Vice President with Rabobank, N.A. located in the central valley of California. There she was responsible for collateral risk for the bank on all real estate secured term loans and personal property secured working capital commercial loans.

 

As a risk management consultant, Paige leverages her experiences in real property and personal property valuations to assist clients in understanding risk in their operations while matching those risks to the client’s needs in order to maximize value. Paige focuses on providing services to agricultural operations and businesses needing assistance with understanding both the valuation process and the implications of those valuations.

 

Working across the western United States has allowed Paige to gain diverse expertise in the areas of dairies, wineries, permanent planting operations (fruits and nuts), row crop operations, feedlots, agribusinesses and general commercial businesses.

 

Paige earned her MBA from the University of Phoenix, her BS from Purdue University in Ag Business Management / Ag Economics. In addition, she received a Diploma from the Ukrainian Agricultural Academy in 1992.

 

Paige is an active member and past president of ASAC, and is also a member of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, the California Women for Agriculture and the Society of Chief Appraisers.

Ag Consultant Panelist

Ron Rabou

Ag Consultant, Entrepreneur, Organic Farmer, Professional Speaker, Author

 

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With more than 20 years of speaking experience and work with audiences of all ages and backgrounds, Ron Rabou is a breath of fresh air. Not spit-polished ready to deliver a canned message, Ron offers a non-traditional approach that is enjoyable, refreshing and thought provoking. Scrapping the “I talk, you listen” approach, his presentations are interactive, fun and enlightening - all things needed in our sometimes overwhelming lives. Not profound for the sake of being profound, but just good common sense that helps bring clarity and simplification to a world full of sophistication and complexity.

 

He is a voice of reason in a time where change is thrust upon us and the fast pace of our lives dictates our priorities.

Ron is a true entrepreneur with a career thus far that includes vast experience in speaking, communications training, public relations, fundraising, foundation and private business experience. He is co-author of a self-help book, “Keep it Simple: The 12 Core Values that Lead to Personal and Professional Success" and past host of the radio program, “ReThink on the Radio”.

 

He owns and manages multiple companies, including an organic wheat farm, numerous real estate interests, a music production company, and a hunting and guiding business. He is a member of the Cheyenne Rotary Club and a graduate of the University of Wyoming and resides on his farm near Albin, Wyoming with his wife and 3 sons.

Panelist: “What We Expect from Our Consultants and How We Use Them: A Client’s Perspective”

Steve Kayhart

Owner, Agricultural Consulting Client

 

Kayhart Brothers LLC, Kayhart Brothers Land Holdings LLC, Kayhart Dairy Partnership LLC

 

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Steve Kayhart graduated from Virginia Tech in 1990 with a B.S. in Dairy Science and a minor in Agricultural Economics. After working for Telmark Lease Financing on the Delmarva Peninsula, he and wife Samantha returned to the family farm in 1992.

 

In 1995, Steve and his parents Lee and Pat formed Kayhart Dairy Partnership. Steve's younger brother, Tim, joined the partnership in 2000. In 2010, the family completed a generational transfer, purchasing the business from their parents, and formed Kayhart Brothers, LLC.

 

In 2013, Steve and Tim purchased the neighboring farm when the owners retired. Then, in 2016-17, they built a new greenfield dairy which will be the site of future operations.

 

Steve is vice chair of Tri-Town Water District and a member of Vergennes Congregational Church. He enjoys exercising, hiking, and playing golf in his spare time.